The 2016-17 season of Aspire Academy’s Tri-Series—a football tournament format that features clubs from all over the world that compete against the Academy’s teams—was held from October 3-6, with a thrilling competition that saw the Academy’s U17 and U16 football teams compete against internationally renowned youth clubs, including the Spanish side Celta De Vigo, and South Korean club, Ulsan Hyundai.
This year’s competition, which runs in a season circle from October 2016 till June 2017, saw Aspire Academy’s U17 football team lead the group with 6 points, winning against both sides and netting a total of 5 goals in two matches.
Whereas the U16 football team started the tournament with an astonishing win that saw young promising talent fire 4 goals into Ulsan Hyundai’s net, they were defeated by one goal from the Spanish side, Celta De Vigo.
The Tri-Series football tournament, a vital part of the Academy’s commitment to enabling the sporting success of its student-athletes, provides a chance for students to compete head-to-head with world’s leading football clubs.
The opportunity to play against opposition from some of the world’s most established footballing countries provides exposure to different playing styles, management philosophies and tactics from around the globe.
This in turn sculpts the footballing talents of the young Academy cadets, and prepares them as they embark on their journey to becoming future leading footballers on a local and an international level.
Aspire Academy’s U17 player Hisham Ali, scorer of the first goal against Celta De Vigo, said: “It’s always great to play at this tournament and face strong teams like Celta De Vigo. Winning against such a team was a great achievement and, of course, we’re all very proud of what we have accomplished in this tournament.
“It’s really a great honour for me to be named the Most Valuable Player in our match against Celta Di Vigo, and I will do my best to show strong games in the future and to improve further.”
The number of teams that have visited Aspire Academy to compete in the Tri-Series tournament has grown steadily since it was launched in 2012. Last year, a total of 32 clubs and associations participated in the tournament, with more than 30 clubs to take part in this year’s competition.
Participating teams have included major football clubs such as Liverpool FC (England), Paris St-Germain (France), Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Nagoya Grampus Eight (Japan), Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) and Palmeiras (Brazil) as well as national youth teams from Canada and Denmark.
Commenting on the occasion, Stephan Hildebrandt from Aspire Academy’s Football Department, said: “The Tri-Series tournament has gone from strength to strength since its establishment. We are, of course, thrilled to see our young student-athletes thrive in international competitions, with the U17 leading their group, and the U16 coming in second with a 4-0 win in the first match.
“This tournament provides the best opportunity to help our student-athletes fulfil their potential and serves as an important stepping stone to further achievements in the future.”
The selection criteria for overseas teams taking part in the Tri-Series competition included a strong emphasis on the nature of their youth development programmes, in addition to their standard of football and footballing style.
During their time in Qatar, representatives from the visiting clubs are also invited to present their philosophy and management approach when working with junior players, which is of considerable benefit both to coaches at Aspire Academy as well as those of the Qatar National teams.